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Bloomberg

Barry Cheung Chun-yuen, the chairman and largest shareholder of Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange, said the failed commodities bourse was a victim that received false financial documents.
"We have been victims in all of this," Cheung said yesterday. "We were provided with documents we did not know were false."
Police have arrested nine people and charged four in connection with the case.
The exchange surrendered its trading licence in May after failing to generate sufficient revenue to support its operations.
Ong Shen Kuo, who sent Cheung a false proof of funds for US$516 million, was a middleman who did not know it was fake, his lawyer, Kevin Egan, told the court yesterday.
Egan said Ong sent the document in the hope of helping to broker a fund-raising deal on behalf of Cheung.
Cheung, who has resigned from all his public service positions, including in the Executive Council, declined to comment on the case involving Ong.
"It's unfortunate that every time this is mentioned, we get dragged in," he said. "We had nothing to do with it other than being provided with the false documents."
The Securities and Futures Commission said on May 21 it found "serious" suspected irregularities in the exchange's financial affairs and referred the case to police.
Three men who were first charged on May 24 with having false papers, including letters related to a US$460 million cheque and US$11 million of funds, are due to appear in court today.
William Barkshire has resigned as co-president of the exchange, and his last day will be August 31, he said in an e-mail yesterday.


HKMEx victim of false papers, says Cheung

Barry Cheung Chun-yuen. Photo: Edward Wong

Business

Commodities

Barry Cheung Chun-yuen, the chairman and largest shareholder of Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange, said the failed commodities bourse was a victim that received false financial documents.
